Questions answered
There are 64 questions about “Animal welfare” in the “How do you operate?” topic.
Click on a question to read our answer.
- 46. are the beef herds fed on organic pasture, chemically enhanced hard feed or both?
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McDonald’s cattle are fed a grass-based diet which is supplemented with cereals and cereal crops. This won’t be specifically organic and certainly won’t be chemically enhanced. Suppliers to McDonald’s source beef from lots of different farms, so it’s difficult to say exactly what’s in the feed for specific cattle. Each farm is required to provide an up-to-date feed plan and keep records of the feed used. McDonald’s has very specific requirements about what shouldn’t be fed to cattle used for its beef.
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What are these? Delicious Digg Reddit Facebook StumbleUpon - 47. How often are animal welfare isues taken into consideration on your suppliers farms?
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Animal welfare issues are considered every single day by the farms and suppliers that produce McDonald’s food. Standards laid down in the McDonald’s Agriculture Assurance Programme clearly state how animals must be cared for, including the provision of feed, bedding, shelter, lighting and comfort. The company's insistence that each one of its suppliers must meet its very high animal welfare standards is further enforced by the McDonald's Quality Assurance Team, several of whom are fully qualified animal welfare officers. They regularly inspect all aspects of the food supply chain to ensure the animals are healthy, properly fed and well looked after throughout their lifetime.
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What are these? Delicious Digg Reddit Facebook StumbleUpon - 48. Can you assure me that none of your meat products are derived from ritually slaughtered animals, and what measuresdo you take to police this issue.
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There is no religious input into the practices that McDonald’s accepts from its suppliers regarding slaughter of animals. All the company can point out is that it has very high standards governing the slaughter of animals. This must be carried out in a humane and compassionate manner by qualified personnel and under veterinary supervision. McDonald’s will not work with any supplier that cannot meet or exceed these high standards, and those required by UK and EU legislation. Furthermore, McDonald’s regularly audits the abattoirs its suppliers use to make sure the company’s strict standards are adhered to.
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What are these? Delicious Digg Reddit Facebook StumbleUpon - 49. Is it true you use factory farming to supply you're beef?
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No, this is not true. All of McDonald’s beef cattle come from reputable farms in the UK and Ireland. Normally during spring and summer the animals are kept outside in the fields and in winter they may also be kept in barns.
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What are these? Delicious Digg Reddit Facebook StumbleUpon - 50. how is your beef slaughtered?
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The cattle are unloaded at the abattoir and then carefully inspected under veterinary supervision to make sure each animal is fit for slaughter. They are then individually walked through to a pen where they are stunned before their main artery is cut. They will die in a matter of seconds and do not feel a thing during this process. McDonald’s has standards in place to ensure that the slaughter of animals is carried out in a humane and compassionate manner by qualified personnel. The company simply will not work with any supplier that cannot adhere to these high standards, and of course all those required by UK and EU legislation. All abattoirs must be EU-approved and all are under the care of qualified vets and health inspectors.
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What are these? Delicious Digg Reddit Facebook StumbleUpon - 51. can you garentee that none of the animals that you use to make food for your restaurant are killed while fully or partially consious ?
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Yes. All animals are individually stunned and unconscious before slaughter. McDonald’s ensures that the slaughter of animals is carried out in a humane and compassionate manner by qualified personnel, under veterinary supervision.
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What are these? Delicious Digg Reddit Facebook StumbleUpon - 52. What type of method are the various animals being slaughtered ? For example are they all stunned Are they all stunned ?
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The animals are unloaded at the abattoir and then carefully inspected under veterinary supervision to make sure each animal is fit for slaughter. They are then individually walked through to a pen where they are stunned before the main artery is cut. They will die in a matter of seconds and do not feel a thing during this process.
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What are these? Delicious Digg Reddit Facebook StumbleUpon - 53. Do any of your worldwide suppliers of meat and poultry use factory farming methods, keeping animals in cramped conditions, pumping them full of anti-biotics and growth hormone?
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The company does not condone factory farming or any abuse of animal welfare as stated in the McDonald’s Agriculture Assurance Programme. This includes the rearing, feeding, transportation, medication and husbandry of animals. The use of growth hormones will not be tolerated in any capacity. If you are interested in finding out more, you can follow their progress on this web site. The Quality Scouts are members of the public who have volunteered to look around McDonald’s UK farms, suppliers and restaurants, see first-hand how they operate and report back on their findings.
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What are these? Delicious Digg Reddit Facebook StumbleUpon - 54. You seem to be skirting the issue of animal welfare by giving the same stock answer. What is your policy on animal welfare?(and please do not give the same stock answer) We all like to eat meat and would like to know that the animals are humanely treated
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Sorry if it seems like ‘skirting’ has been the case, but McDonald’s takes animal welfare very seriously. The fact is that the company will only work with suppliers who adhere to the standards required by the UK and the EU. This means that all meat must come from clean, safe, hygienic environments, and there must be proof that humane slaughter methods are in place. McDonald’s only uses meat from EU approved abbatoirs under the care of qualified vets and health inspectors. Furthermore, several members of the McDonald’s UK Quality Assurance Team are qualified Animal Welfare Officers who regularly inspect company suppliers to ensure McDonald’s strict requirements are being met. Last year McDonald’s UK was awarded an RSPCA Alternative Award for commitment to improving animal welfare.
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What are these? Delicious Digg Reddit Facebook StumbleUpon - 55. Is it correct that chickens are ‘speed reared’ for McNuggets? I read that it’s only six weeks from egg to McNugget.
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The British Poultry Council sets high standards of welfare in relation to the production of chicken, which is managed through a set of standards called Assured Chicken Production (ACP). McDonald’s and other retailers and food manufacturers use these, and expect these high standards of producers and farmers. During their lifetime the birds must be well looked after to meet these standards, and McDonald’s refuses to take meat from suppliers who don’t meet them. Birds for human consumption are bred to reach optimum weight in around 40 days.
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What are these? Delicious Digg Reddit Facebook StumbleUpon - 56. How long are chickens supposed to live & how long do you keep them alive for before you kill them?
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A chicken’s natural life would depend on how it is kept. In the UK birds raised for human consumption are bred to reach optimum weight in around 40 days and birds kept to produce eggs are kept for over a year.
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What are these? Delicious Digg Reddit Facebook StumbleUpon - 57. Do you use ethically reared beef?
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The welfare of the animals matters to McDonald's - as it matters to you. For that reason McDonald's will not work with any supplier who does not adhere to its high standards and those required by UK and EU legislation. In addition McDonald’s work with internationally renowned welfare experts to ensure best practices are in place. People might also be surprised to hear that last year McDonald's UK were awarded an RSPCA Alternative Award for commitment to improving animal welfare in the ‘fast food’ category. McDonald's suppliers are required to follow strict animal welfare practices that ensure that animals are treated in a humane way, preventing any stress, pain or suffering.
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What are these? Delicious Digg Reddit Facebook StumbleUpon - 58. How do you keep your stock?
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All of McDonald’s animal stock comes from farms in the UK and Ireland. Normally during spring and summer the animals are kept outside in the fields and in winter they may also be kept in barns. The welfare of animals is important to McDonald’s and only suppliers who adhere to their high standards and those required by UK and EU legislation are used.
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What are these? Delicious Digg Reddit Facebook StumbleUpon - 59. How many animals in total are killed each year for McDonalds UK restaurants? Roughly how old are the animals?
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It's difficult to give an absolutely precise number, but as a rough estimate, McDonald's UK uses approximately 33,000 tonnes of beef a year. That’s roughly 90kg of boneless meat per animal, equal to just under 367,000 head of cattle a year. In the UK all cattle used for McDonald's burgers are under 30 months of age. McDonald's uses 4,600 tonnes of pork belly every year from just over 657,000 head of pork, and 280,000 chickens per week or 14.6 million per year.
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What are these? Delicious Digg Reddit Facebook StumbleUpon - 60. do your animals live a suffering life?
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Last year the RSCPA recognised and awarded McDonald's for improvements made to animal welfare - which is testimony to how seriously the company takes this issue. All of the farmers who supply the company with beef are approved by farm assurance schemes and in addition McDonald's has its own set of standards. If you are interested in finding out more, McDonald's will in the future be offering the opportunity to visit some of the farms that supply McDonald's.
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